High tide had left a line of debris farther up the sand, like some giant had come and spread a scalloped frill of lace along the length of the beach. Bits of greenery popped here and there, little poofs like tiny bright pom-poms. It was kelp. That stuff wasn’t just edible; it was probably even healthy.
I race-walked toward it and scooped up the first bit I found. It was slimy and yellow-green, looking like nothing I’d ever want to put in my mouth. But it was nutrient rich.
I clutched my prize close, making a beeline for Ronan. I wanted props for this before any other girl copied me and got credit for the idea. It meant I was distracted when the hands grabbed me.
CHAPTER TEN
I flinched, but it did no good. Isabella and her pal had me, one on either side. Their hands were steel bands around my arms. Girlie Long Legs leaned close, whispering at my cheek, “Wanna play?”
“Back off.” I took a sharp step back but couldn’t break their hold.
Isabella tightened her grip and wrenched me forward. “Or what?”
Her friend grinned, and it wasn’t a friendly one. She dug her fingers deep into my flesh. “She’s all talk, Izzy. Ignore her—she can’t do anything. Isn’t that right, Drew? You’re just a little girl.” This close, she towered over me. She leaned down enough to tuck her arm snugly into mine. “And like all good little girls, we’re going to play.”
I twisted, but she was so close, too close for me to get any leverage. I gave a last tug, even though I knew it wouldn’t do any good. “I had no idea you cared. Shouldn’t you buy me dinner first?”
“Freak.” Isabella gave a hard shove, steering me back toward the shore.
“Seriously.” I wriggled and dragged my feet. Near the water with these two was the last place I wanted to find myself, but they had me sandwiched between them, heading closer to the breakers. “Get…off.”
I looked right and left, suppressing the frantic sensation jangling its way up my legs to my brain. Steady, I told myself. I assessed. Ronan was no longer in sight. A few girls were beachcombing in the distance, and even if they had been nearby, they’d probably just watch anyway, cheering on Isabella and her friend.
“Looking for someone?”
“Yeah.” I gave a sharp twist to my shoulder. My arms were going to have some major bruises. “Someone else for you to bother.”
Isabella leaned disturbingly close. “But we want to bother you.” The smell of her breath, like stale coffee, turned my stomach.
Revulsion gave me a burst of strength, and I managed to slip my arm from her hand. “Get off me.”
But her grip found me again, and I felt the pop of my skin as her nails sliced into my hand. I was stronger since my arrival on the island, but they’d been drinking the same blood I had. They were stronger, too.
The tide lapped at our feet now. I’d forgotten I had the kelp clutched in my hand and dropped it, quickly grinding it into the wet sand with my foot. If I couldn’t have it, they couldn’t either.
But Spidergirl had spotted it. “Whatcha got?” She let go of me to lean down and scoop it up.
I kicked at her head, but Isabella hauled me back before I could connect. “What is it?” Izzy demanded.
“Give me a sec.” Spiderlegs shook off the largest clumps of grit. The kelp was mangled, all squashed and covered in sand. She held it up, pinning a look on me like she was accusing me of something. “What the hell is this?”
“I bet you can eat it,” Isabella said, one part of her mind still focused on our assignment.
Her friend stood and shoved it close to my face, demanding, “Can you eat this?”
I did my best not to flinch away. “How the hell should I know?”
“Oh, I think you know.”
A catty smile curled onto Isabella’s face. “Let’s find out.”
Spidergirl’s jaw dropped with concentration, making her look like one long, stretched-out crazy person. She grabbed the back of my head, and her eyes were manic and laser focused as she shoved the kelp at me, grinding it into my face.
I was certain it was edible. It didn’t mean I wanted to eat it. I clamped my lips shut.
“Make her open her mouth.” Isabella sounded positively gleeful. Their hands were all over me, and my body exploded into action, struggling to get free.
The other girl barked, “Help me,” and they tried to shove it between my lips, but I swung my head from side to side, evading them.
I felt a foot hooking mine. Isabella tripping me. I went to my knees in the water and felt my eyes bug wide. The freezing water stole my breath instantly. She leapt onto my back. “Push her in.”
I panted through my nostrils, acclimating. I made my body grow still—not because I was giving up, but because I needed a plan. The cold would sap my energy. When I acted, it needed to be for good.
Izzy stood over me, trying to wrench my head down, riding me like a kid on a pony. She singsonged, “Drowning will make you open your mouth.”
They shoved at me, and the water drew closer to my face. It was too hard to fight both of them at once. I was furious at myself. What a screwup. I knew better than to let my guard down for a second. If I got out of this, I’d never be taken by surprise again.
I was soaked, but Missy Long Legs was in the breakers with me, and with a sharp twist of my arm, I managed to slide from her wet grip and flopped forward. I knew a breathtakingly searing pain as a huge clump of my hair ripped out. “Gross,” she cried, and I saw scattered blond hair drifting on the waves, gliding along the shoreline, before being sucked out to sea.
My elbows had stopped me from landing on my belly, and I rolled sideways, scanning for some help or inspiration.
Isabella’s fingers raked along my scalp, grabbing another fistful of hair. “Looking for teacher?”
A wave crashed over my head, and as it receded, foam whooshed up my nose, the salt water searing into my sinuses. I fought, but they had me pinned again, shoving my face lower until sand scraped my cheek. Screams tore from my throat even though my mouth was sealed tight. I stole wild looks right and left. Where the hell was everyone? Where was Ronan?
“He can’t help you,” Izzy said, guessing who I was looking for.
“Teacher’s pet,” the other one spat.
“Bitch.”
“He’s gone. I saw him walk back to his truck.”
“Maybe he can’t stand the sight of you.”
“I know I can’t.”
“You stink too much.” Isabella’s fingers curled into my shoulders, shoving down. “You need a wash.”
I had to fight smarter. How could I survive on this rock if I couldn’t even fight a couple of Initiates?
I let their voices dull in my head, focusing only on how I was going to get out of this. Spidergirl was squatting in front of me now, and she looked off balance. It was the chance I’d been waiting for.
I’d been trying to push her away, but now I pulled her closer instead. My arms crisscrossed in front of her neck as I slid my hands beneath her collar and yanked. A basic choke…Thank you, Priti.
I rolled backward, pulling her with me, on top of me. My head was in the breakers, but I had her. The sky was a dull gray overhead, the sun gone for the day. I was freezing, but I pushed all those thoughts to a distant spot in the back of my mind. I jerked my elbows out, tightening her collar. She began to gag.
“What are you girls about?” It was Ronan.
Finally.
Isabella popped to her feet. “Tracer Ronan.”
Her friend had been trying to pull away from me, and the moment I let her go, she flew backward, flopping into the shallow waves.
I skittered away like a crab, and as I did, I spotted my bit of kelp. It was a mauled tangle of brownish green bobbing limply in the shallow water, but I grabbed it anyway, just as it was about to be washed away by a wave. I raised it over my head like a trophy. “I was getting this. Kelp. This is edible.” The words came out rapid fire. I was sure I sounded like a madwoman.
He looked at me for
a moment. His expression was hard to read, but I thought I saw strains of worry, anger, exasperation, and just the slightest bit of amusement. His gaze went to the other two. “And you? What did you find while you were mucking about in the breakers?”
Isabella was silent, her face a total blank as she returned Ronan’s stare. It was her innocent look, and I couldn’t help but let out a puff of a laugh at the sight of it.
“Nothing?” He checked his watch. “It’s been over an hour and you’ve nothing to show for it?”
“No,” Izzy said quietly.
He looked to Spidergirl. “You, too, Aubrey?”
So that was her name. Rather than looking at Ronan, she was glaring at Isabella, staring daggers. I noticed how she was soaked while Izzy was mostly dry. Clearly this hadn’t been Aubrey’s idea.
“Fine,” Ronan said. “You have fifteen minutes left in class. There are tiny fish swimming in schools. See there.” He pointed. “Just past the break. You won’t return to the dorm until you catch one and bring it to me.”
Isabella shrieked, her silent innocent act gone. “We have to get in the water?”
“You seem adept at getting wet,” he said. “You figure it out.”
Aubrey stabbed a finger in my direction. “Why doesn’t she have to get a fish?”
“Acari Drew has her kelp. You, however, must retrieve a fish. Now. Unless you wish me to make it two.”
He headed back up the beach, and I followed. It wasn’t like we were walking together, just walking in the same direction. He called instructions to the other girls, telling them to wrap it up, to bring their finds to him at the truck, but I stayed silent. I dared not thank him. The exchange with Izzy and Aubrey could’ve easily been interpreted as him playing favorites, and I didn’t know which would be more dangerous—for him to have a teacher’s pet, or for me to be labeled as one.
Though he ignored me, he slowed until we were nearly side by side. He’d seen my kelp—did that mean class was done for me? When his Range Rover came into view, I gritted my chattering teeth and said, “S-so, does this mean I can go?”
He gave a steely nod, and I peeled off in the other direction, but then he surprised me by calling out, “Wait. Annelise.”
I stopped, peering at him. It was almost completely dark now, and I tried to make sense of his expression in the twilight. Was I about to get it? Would he tear into me about needing to come to my aid? Had he changed his mind—would he make me return to the beach to gather my own fish after all?
“You’re cold,” he said instead. “You know I can’t drive you back…”
For a surreal moment, I thought I heard regret. I was shivering, but my cheeks flamed hot. “That’s cool,” I said quickly. “I can walk. I want to walk.” I tried to sound casual. Normal. At this point, I just wanted to get out of there.
“I’ve a towel in the car.” His eyes were so solemn as he said it. Like he was offering me not just a towel but something more.
I was shivering now, my body seizing and shaking. I’d have killed for a towel, but I also had the gut sense that I needed to get away. I’d been alone with Ronan tons of times. I reminded myself we were cool. This was normal. He was kind of on my side.
And yet we’d always maintained complete formality in front of other people. So what was with the towel? It was such a simple thing, but might it be construed as preferential treatment? He wouldn’t offer Izzy and Aubrey a towel—I’d have bet on it. What would the other girls think?
What would Carden think? I had a feeling Ronan knew about my relationship with the vampire, so why was he even acting like this? Did he suspect our bond and worry for me? Was this his way of looking out for me?
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what the rules were. So instead I just stared dumbly.
“You’re being foolish,” he said, and his sudden coldness snapped me out of it.
I’d just been imagining things. I was being foolish.
“Sorry. You’re right.” I laughed and shook my head. “I think I must be, like, hypothermic or something.”
He opened the back of the SUV and pulled out something that looked more like a blanket than an item you’d use after a swim. “Take it.”
I did, shivering with relief as it absorbed the excess water from my clothes. It was a dark color—green maybe?—though hard to tell for sure in the moonlight. The edges were frayed, and errant threads tickled my hands. It was an old towel, not some standard-issue thing. Ronan’s personal towel. I imagined it was the one he used after he surfed.
I had the weirdest urge, and as I brought it to my face to scrub my cheeks and eyes, I inhaled deeply, seeking some Ronan scent. I smelled the brine of seawater, and sniffed again, trying to detect the other scent that lingered just on the edge of my senses.
The squawk of girls cut through the air—the other Initiates returning.
I abruptly wadded up the towel and tossed it back to him, hoping he couldn’t read my expression in the dark. “Thanks.” My voice came out way more earnestly than I’d intended.
“Annelise, it’s merely a towel.”
“No, I mean for earlier.” I realized that was what I’d been wanting to say the whole time. “Thanks for what you did on the beach.” That hadn’t just been him being a teacher—he’d been looking out for me. I may not have known why, but I knew. I’d seen it on his face.
I expected him to deny it, to blow me off in his usual way, but instead he shrugged it off. “It wasn’t entirely on your account. The leggy one had it coming.”
He gave me a quirky grin that made me trust him. Made me want to take a risk. I strained my ears, making sure the other Initiates were still far off. I had a minute. Maybe two. Before I could chicken out, I asked the one question on my mind. “What happened to Emma?”
His face shuttered instantly, but his voice was kind. “Emma is gone. Let her go.”
“She was alive.” I knew it now, knew it in my bones. “They took her to the keep. What happened to her there?”
“You have enough to concern you without thoughts of the vampires’ keep. It’s my understanding that Alcántara has given you this term’s assignment. Is that correct?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then that is what you must focus on.” His tone was stern, relentless. “Alcántara’s assassination class is infamous. Many girls have lost their lives not taking it seriously.”
“But I—”
“Let…it…go.” He paused between words, drawing it out, trying to make me hear. “You must. Unless, perhaps, you want to find yourself in the same situation.” His words gave me a chill—and not for the reasons he would’ve thought. Did I want to find myself taken to the keep? He didn’t know just how close to the mark he was—I was desperate to see inside.
“Well…” I gave him a sheepish look. “Actually, I was kind of thinking I might want to. Break in, I mean.”
“To the vampires’ castle?”
At my nod, he laughed. He actually laughed.
“It’s not funny. I mean it, Ronan.”
The smile lingered on his face, but his eyes hardened. “If you think you can simply break in, you’re more foolish than I took you for.”
“I’ll figure out a way. What if I threw a fight? I could lose on purpose, and—”
“Don’t even think it. Don’t even say it.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a menacing whisper. “You go into that castle, you’ll never come out again.” Pain bled onto his features, until he looked genuinely distressed by the thought.
“Don’t tell me you care, Ronan.”
He blew out a shaky breath. “Good Christ, Annelise.”
I couldn’t help the smile that popped onto my face. Maybe I wasn’t as alone as I thought. Not nearly. “You do care, don’t you?”
His upper lip twitched—a smile he didn’t want to give me just then. “For one so smart, you’re quite clueless.”
It was a clear night, the moonlight vibrating on my skin, so I sensed the veil of s
hadow the moment it fell over my shoulder. Carden, standing behind me. I’d been so focused on how close the girls were, I’d forgotten how likely it was that he’d appear. I was still getting used to our connection. He’d probably set out to find me the moment he sensed my distress on the beach.
“Clueless.” My vampire repeated Ronan’s last word, and he didn’t sound too pleased. Great. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see Carden, or that I kept secrets from him. On the contrary, I’ve confided so much more to him than I’ve ever told Ronan. I just wanted to chat with Ronan without Carden misunderstanding…like he was clearly doing now.
I couldn’t see his face, but if Ronan’s utterly blank expression was any indication, Carden was giving him his best death glare.
“Master McCloud,” Ronan said. “We were just finishing up class. To what do we owe this honor?”
Ronan would wonder what Carden was doing there, and sure enough, I heard his thought process in the shifting tone of his voice…at first surprise, then skepticism, and finally the sound of a suspicion confirmed. And of course it was—showing up like this was a pretty bold move on Carden’s part. If Ronan had had a hunch about our relationship before, Carden appearing like this would be enough to confirm it.
“Perhaps you can explain,” the vampire pressed, “about what, exactly, do you find our Annelise to be clueless?”
Oh hell. There it was. Final confirmation, if any had been needed.
“Clueless?” I interjected quickly. I didn’t like the wrath I sensed in my vampire’s voice, and I was so not ready for any I-know-you-know sort of showdowns. I cared about both of them too much. “I’m not clueless,” I added, trying to break the tension with humor. “I’ve always thought I was more, you know, like a scattered-professor type.”
Silence.
My mind raced for the conversational pleasantries that might break this level of tension, but I was pulling a blank. I decided on some version of the truth. “I was asking Ronan about the keep.”
Carden’s expression shuttered. “This again?”
I nodded sheepishly. Caught.
“I told you to think not on such things.” My vampire paused briefly, an unreadable look crossing his face. “Nor should this Tracer allow you to entertain such questions.”
The Keep: The Watchers Page 8